Israel is a people, not a place.
Was Jesus Jewish? Christian educators tell us that Jesus was the son of a Jewish carpenter and that he came to bring "peace on Earth." The Bible however, tells a much different story.
It is taught that Jesus was Jewish because his father Joseph was Jewish. But Joseph traveled to his hometown of Bethlehem to be counted in the Roman census. When Herod heard that a king of the Jews had just been born in Bethlehem, he sent soldiers to kill all the children 2 years of age and under in the town of Bethlehem to eliminate the baby Jesus. Strangely, it is Rachel who weeps over the children, not Leah, and Rachel is from the biblical line of Joseph, not Judah, so the children Herod's troops were killing weren't Jewish.
"In Ramah (Ramla) was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
Matt. 2:18 KJV
In the time of Jesus, the three tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and Benjamin, occupied the various towns surrounding Jerusalem, and the town of Bethlehem was occupied by the blessed tribe of Ephraim. God's blessing was passed down from father to son along the Hebrew bloodline from Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, Jacob to Joseph, and finally from Joseph to Ephraim.
Secondly, both Matthew and Luke list Joseph's lineage from Abraham down through Judah to Joseph, but the lists are not the same. So who's right? Maybe neither. And we can be sure that no member of the tribe of Judah would name his son by using the name of another tribe. It does not matter anyway, because Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. Remember, Mary was already pregnant before she married Joseph. It also appears that Mary was a descendent of Joseph because during his teen years Jesus worked aboard vessels owned by Mary's great uncle Joseph of Arimathea (also a city in Ephraim) exploring many nations such as England (tin), India (textiles and jewelry) and seaports around the Mediterranean. This gave Jesus the opportunity to learn much about the world of his time. It's also recorded that Jesus might have planted the seeds of Christianity in Glastonbury, England.
Some people think Jesus was Jewish because his parents circumcised him. But the fact is that all twelve tribes went to Synagogue and circumcised their children in the time of Jesus. Circumcision was in fact practiced by many Bedouins in the Middle East long before the Jews arrived.
And all this talk about Jesus coming to bring peace on Earth is in direct opposition to what Jesus himself told us in Luke 12:51-53, where he clearly states that he did not come to bring peace, but instead came to bring division. It appears that those who teach that Jesus came to bring "peace on Earth" may need to spend more time reading and studying their Bibles.
"Suppose ye that I came to bring peace on earth. I tell you NO, but division!
For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two,
and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son
against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against
the mother, the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in
law against her mother in law."
Luke 12:51-53 KJV
Jesus cursed the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem because they turned from the worship of God to the worship of wealth. He also said in a parable that those who killed the "son of the Lord of the vineyard" would have the Kingdom of God removed from them and given to a nation "bringing forth the fruits thereof." The sons of Judah suffered the fate of those in the parable of Matthew 12:9, and thus their vineyard was given to the nation of Ephraim (Ephraim means fruitful).
If you want to know the truth, you'll have to glean it directly from the Hebrew prophets, and not from church leaders who preach their personal views on the message of the Scriptures. It's unfortunate that although it's the most widely distributed book on the planet, the Bible is also the most read but least understood book as well. Most people rely on their religious leaders when it comes to understanding scripture, or they study Bible scriptures using other books written to influence their reading experience. The prophets represent the only reliable source of truth when it comes to understanding the Scriptures. So if you'd like to read the truth about Jesus for a change, and want to know when Jesus was actually born (it wasn't December 25th), just click one of the secure book links on this webpage to order your book by Edward Oliver, so you can help awaken others to the true message of the Scriptures for God's lost sheep.
USE THIS SECURE AMAZON LINK
TO ORDER A BOOK OR EBOOK: